Receptacles with positive locking closures



Feb. 6, 1962 E. H. E. THORNTON RECEPTACLES WITH POSITIVE LOCKINGCLOSURES 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 3, 1959 Fig.l

INVENTOR hbim HE. 1Hm2mou ATTORNEY Feb. 6, 1962 E. H. E. THORNTONRECEPTACLES WITH POSITIVE LOCKING CLOSURES Filed Dec. 5, 1959 5Sheets-Sheet 2 F g 8 INVENTOR Emsm Hiiuomnou BY MMW Fig.7

ATTORNEY Feb. 6, 1962 H. E. THORNTON 3,019,931

RECEPTACLES WITH POSITIVE LOCKING CLOSURES Filed Dec. 3. 1959 5Sheets-Sheet 5 24 Fig."

Fig.l0

ELbEQT HE. Tnorz/vrou BY [Md/QM ATTORNEY United States This inventionrelates to improvements in containers provided with detachable closureswherein the containers and closures are so constructed that they carrycooperating means whereby the closures can be securely affixed to thecontainers so as to form sealed receptacles.

Such class of containers is commonly used for medicaments and otherdangerous materials such as poisons so that it becomes highly desirableto provide some means to prevent removal of the closure from thecontainer, by unauthorized persons such as small children. This factorhas previously been recognized by various persons as is evident from areview of prior patents. However, notwithstanding the considerablevolume of prior art on the subject, and the fact that much time has beendevoted to finding a satisfactory solution to the problem, no suggestionhas heretofore been presented which is completely practical.

Prior patentees have provided safety receptacles in which trick screwarrangements are used, and/ or arrangements in which the expense offabrication is excessive due to the exactness of dimension required forproper operation. A review of the art discloses three broad types ofsafety closure arrangements for use with containers of the class towhich the present invention relates.

The first type includes devices wherein the means for securing theclosure to the container is constructed with a maze of stops so thatrotation of the closure to various degrees and in reversing directionsis required to uncouple the closure from the container. Designs of thistype provide no positive lock, and are expensive to fabricate.

The second type of structure suggested by the prior art includes deviceswhere cooperating threads or other securing means on the closure andcontainer are modified to provide for locking. Structures of this typeare also expensive to fabricate. Moreover, they do not provide for tightsealing engagement between closure and container and/or do not providefor positive locking engagement between closure and container.

The third general type of safety closure heretofore contemplatedincorporates two connected shell elements which can be brought intoengagement when removal of the closure from the container is to beeifected. This type of structure is particularly expensive to fabricateand requires considerable manipulation ability to effect removal of theclosure. Also, no positive locking is achieved with this type.

The types of closures heretofore suggested were expensive to fabricatebecause new equipment, such as molds, had to be specially constructed toproduce the article, and new and special assembly techniques had to bedeveloped. Mold adaptations were not simple, but were complex due to thenecessity of providing exact and complicated cavities. Moreover, not oneof the prior art units provided a positive locking arrangement nor didthey in many instances allow for a tight seal between the closure andthe container.

Accordingly, a primary object of the present invention is to provide anew type of safety receptacle which can be easily prod-need withexisting equipment and which requires no assembly developments.

Further objects of the present invention are (l) to provide a safetyreceptacle wherein a positive lock is produced between the container andclosure, and (2) to provide a safety receptacle in accordance with theabove ob- "ice jects wherein a tight seal between container and closurecan at all times be maintained.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a safety receptaclein accordance with the objects previously set forth which receptacle canbe assembled in most part from existing components with only slightmodification thereto, or which can be fabricated as two new compo nentstructures adapted to cooperate with one another.

A still further important object of this invention is to provide asafety receptacle having a positive lock arrangement which can be easilyapplied to plastic spouts, plastic blow bottles, and/ or other types ofplastic container components now being widely produced by manufacturersin the plastics industry. In accordance with this object, a morespecific object of the invention is to provide such a positive lockingarrangement having components which can be easily molded with the otherplastic components of the containing means to which the invention isapplied.

From the foregoing objects of the invention, it should be apparent thata still further important object of the invention is not only to providea safety receptacle having a positive locking means, which receptaclecan be easily assembled from only slightly modified existing containercomponents, but also to provide a safety receptacle which can be easilymolded by known techniques with only slight modification to existingmolding equipment.

More specifically, an important object of the present invention is toprovide a safety receptacle wherein a wedge means or wedging abutmentoperable externally of the container is provided, and wherein notchmeans or another abutment carried by the closure cooperates with theWedge means or wedging abutment to prevent removal of the closure fromthe container unless the wedge means or wedging abutment is operated.

Another, and still further specific object of the invention is toprovide a ring which can be utilized with only slightly modifiedexisting containers and closures to accomplish positive locking betweenthe containers and associated closures.

Briefly, and in its simplest aspects, the invention provides a safetyreceptacle comprising the following combination of elements: (1) acontaining means having an open end; (2) stationary wedge means carriedby the containing means and spaced from the open end of the containingmeans; (3) external means for depressing the wedge means; (4) a closurefor the containing means having a crown portion and a skirt portion, theskirt portion carrying an abutment adapted to cooperate with the wedgemeans to prevent removal of the closure from the containing means unlessthe means for depressing the wedge means is operated; and (5)cooperating means on said container and said skirt portion of saidclosure for tightening said closure on said container.

The invention will be better understood, and objects other than thosespecifically recited hereinabove will become apparent, whenconsideration is given to the following detailed description of theexemplary embodiments of the invention. Such exemplary embodiments arepresented in the annexed drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a side view of the mouth of an ordinary container which hasbeen modified in accordance with the teachings of this invention;

FIGURE 2 presents a side view of the container mouth shown in FIGURE 1on which a ring constructed according to the invention has been placed;

FIGURE 3 is a side view of the container mouth and the ring shown inFIGURE 2, but further presenting a closure constructed according to theinvention in locked position on the container;

FIGURE 4 is similar to FIGURE 3, but shows'the closure of FIGURE 3 inthe position assumed immediatel prior to locking;

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of the ring shown in FIGURES 2, 3 and 4;

FIGURE 6 presents a side view of a container constructed in accordancewith the invention wherein the wedge means is integral with thecontainer;

FIGURE 7 is aside view, partially in section, showing a completereceptacle, having the features shown in detail in FIGURE 6;

FIGURE 8 is a side view of a complete receptacle pro-. vided by thisinvention having components which are only slightly modified existingstructures;

FIGURE 9 is a side view partially in section presenting a modifiedembodiment of the invention wherein an outer shell cap is provided foreffecting unlocking of the closure;

FIGURE 10 is a side view of a container mouth or spout provided with awedge means in accordance with the teachings of this invention whichwedge means can be molded with the container mouth;

FIGURE 11 is a plan view of the container mouth shown in FIGURE 10, suchview being taken on the line 11.11 of FIGURE 10; and

FIGURE 12 is a side view of the container mouth shown in FIGURES 1.0 and11 having disposed thereon a closure constructed in accordance with thisinvention.

By referring now to the drawings, and in particular FIGURE 1, it will benoted that the numeral 2 designates the mouth of a container 1 which hasan open end 4, and threads 6 provided adjacent the open end. Disposedbelow the threads 6 is. a head 8 which extends around the mouth andwhich has an interruption 10 therein. Although an ordinary screw threadtype container month has been presented in FIGURE 1, it should beunderstood that the mating means thereon need not be a spiral threadsuch as that designated by numeral 6, but may be any type of matingmeans which will cooperate with an associated closure adapted to betightened on the container mouth.

According to the preferred embodiment of the invention, a ring 12 isplaced over the open end 4 of the mouth 2, and lowered thereover suchthat the ring 12 rests on bead 8 as shown in FIGURE 2. The ring 12, asbest shown in FIGURE 5, comprises a fiat body portion 14, two spaceddepending legs 16 and 18 projecting below the body portion 14, a wedgeportion 20 projecting above the body portion, and an extension or tab 22coupled with the wedge portion 20 and projecting laterally outward fromthe body portion.

When the ring 12 is placed on the bead 8, legs 16 and 1i; extend intobead interruption 10 and abut the end faces 9 and .11 respectively ofthe head.

The ring 12 may be made from any suitable mate-rial which hasresiliency, such as, for example, metal, rubber .or plastic. However, inaccordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention, the ring isformed from a plastic material such as, for example, polyethylene whichcan be easily and cheaply molded.

The particular requirements of the resiliency of the ring 12, and thefunction served by such ring, will become apparent after considerationis given to FIGURE 3 of the drawings. In FIGURE 3, a closure 30 which asshown is a slightly modified ordinary cap, is screwed onto the mouth 2of the container. The closure consists of a crown portion 32 and a skirtportion 24 which depends from the crown portion and terminates at edge26. The

edge 26 is formed so as to have a notch or abutment 28 therein.Preferably, the face of notch 28 is beveled at an acute angle withreference to edge 26 so as to cooperate with the bevel on the wedgeportion-2d. The wedge portion 20 is preferably beveled at the same acuteangle with respect to the faceof ring 12 as the angle of bevel of notch28 with respect to edge 26. The notch and wedge faces thus can be placedin abutting relation. However, 'as will become apparent hereinafter,notch 23 does not always abut the beveled face 21 of wedge 20 when theclosure is tightened upon the container.

The phantom lines of FIGURE 3 show the projections 7 on closure 36 whichcooperate with threads 6 carried by the container mouth 2 so that theclosure may be screwed onto the mouth. Although an ordinary screw capconstruction has been shown, it should be understood that any suitabletype of cooperating means on closure and container may be used fortightening the closure on the container without departing from the scopeand spirit of the invention. At the same time, it must be rememberedthat an important feature of the invention is to provide a safetyreceptacle which can be made in substantial part from only slightlymodified existing structures.

Having set forth the elements of the invention, and the exemplaryconfigurations thereof, attention can now be directed to operation ofthe invention. After the ring 12 has been placed upon bead 8 as shown inFIGURE 2, the closure 30 is placed over the mouth 2 of the container andtightened down upon the mouth. In the construction shown, the closure orcap 31 is screwed down on the mouth of the container, the internalthreads 7 on the cap cooperating with the external threads 6 on thecontainer.

As the closure 30 is tightened down on the container, the notch 28passes over the wedge portion 20 and as a result, the wedge is depressedas shown in FIGURE 4. The interruption in bead 8 allows for suchdepression. The legs 16 and 18 depending from the ring abut faces 9 and11 of bead 8 and serve as means to prevent rotation of the ring 12 onthe bead 8.

Once the notch 26 has passed over the wedge portion, the wedge portionsprings back to its normal position and the closure can be furthertightened upon the mouth of the container if necessary so as to effect atight seal between the underside of the crown portion 32 and the lip 34of the container mouth. If desired a cushion liner of any well-knowntype may be placed inside the closure juxtaposed the underside of thecrown portion 32 to effect a tight seal.

Once the closure has been tightened upon the container mouth, and thenotch 28 has passed over the wedge portion 20 of the ring, the closureis positively locked on the container. It cannot be removed by ID-tation of the closure, since notch 28 will abut the wedge, and furtherrotation is prevented. The legs 15 and 18 prevent rotation of the ring,and in turn, through wedge 20 prevent rotation of the closure.

However, if it is desired to remove the closure, tab 22 can bedepressed, and this results in depression of the wedge 20. That is tosay, the tab 22 serves as means to depress or operate the wedge means sothat the notch 28 can pass thereover and the closure can be unscrewedfrom the container.

As shown in the drawings, the notch '28 in the closure is formed as asloping projection depending from the terminal edge of the closure.Although such construction is preferred, it should be understood thatvarious shapes of notches may be utilized without departing from thescope and spirit of the invention. The notch, however, must be shaped soas to abut the wedge to prevent removal of the closure unless the wedgemeans is depressed.

A notch having a fiat vertical face abutting a fiat vertical face of thewedge portion is one example of a modified shape which may be used. Theimportant factor is that the notch and wedge cooperate to provide apositive lock.

The term notch as used in this specification and the appended claimsrefers to any abutment which cooper ates with an associated wedge or'abutment to provide for locking. Thus, the notch 28 can be appropriatelydesignated as a first abutment carried by the closure and the wedgemeans 21' can appropriately be designated as a second abutment carriedon or by the container.

Although a primary object of the invention is to provide a lockingstructure which is easily used on existing structures, it should beapparent from the foregoing discussion that the invention can be appliedto a spe ial y formed container whereby the wedge means, and means fordepressing the wedge means, are integral with the container. FIGURE 6presents a side view of a container so formed.

In FIGURE 6 the cooperating means on container and closure, or threads 6and 7, are the same as with other figures. The wedge, however, takes theform of a projection 1% extending outward from the body of the containerand having a wedge portion 102 and a tab portion 104. The wedge portionis preferably formed as an integral part of the container, however, aswill be apparent to ordinary mechanics in the art, any suitable meansmay be used for attaching the wedge 1G2 and tab, or means for depressingthe wedge 104 to the container. The wedge portion must be free to bedepressed, and thus the rear portion only of the projection 100 is rigidwith the container. Operation of this embodiment of the invention is thesame as with the embodiment of FIGURES l-4. The closure is positivelylocked on the container once tightened upon the mouth thereof, untilsuch time as the tab 104- is depressed to depress the wedge portion sothat the notch on the cap can be rotated therepast for removal of theclosure from the container.

Notwithstanding the fact that only one wedge portion or wedge abutmentand cooperating notch or abutment have been presented with each completereceptacle discussed hereinabove, it should be apparent that more thanone set of abutments may be provided on any given receptacle. Forexample, the bead of FIGURES 1-4 can be interrupted in several places,and wedge portions can be provided on the ring above each interruption.One set of legs 16, 18 will sufiice to prevent rotation of the ring,however, duplicate sets of legs may be incorporated if desired. Aninterruption in the bead for each wedge portion is necessary because thewedge portions need be depressable. V

Another modification which may be desirable in certain instancesis theprovision of an outer shell over the closure so arranged that pressureon the outer shell results in depression of any tabs which operatewedges. Such construction is schematically illustrated in FIG- URE 9wherein the outer shell is,- designated by numeral 110. The terminaledge 111 of the outer shell is so d sposed that such edge abuts the tab22 and thus depression of the shell results in depression or" the wedge21).

The outer shell is coupled to the closure 39 by any suitable means suchas lugs 112 which project into vertical recesses 114 in the closure 3!This allows for vertical adjustment of the shell 110, and at the sametime provides for tightening of the closure 30 on thecontainer. Theparticular means used for coupling the outer shell to the closure is notpart of the present invention,

and it should be understood that the invention only contemplates,according to this modification, the provision of some coupling meanswhich allows for vertical adjustment of the shell, and tightening ofclosure Sit? on the container mouth.

A further modified form of the present invention is shown in FIGURES10-12. This additional embodiment is particularly adapted for use inconnection with plastic pouring spouts and blown plastic containers. Forpurposes of illustration, 2. spout adapted to be used on the open end ofa tin can is presented in FIGURE lOQ However, it should be understoodthat the instant embodiment may be applied to the mouth of any suitablecontainer.

The spout is generally designated by the numeral 150, and comprises alower skirt portion 152 adapted to peripherally engage the end of a can154, a central neck portion 156, and a terminal lip 158. The neckportion 156, as shown, carries threads 16), but as explainedhereinabove, any suitable cooperating means may be used on container andclosure for tightening the closure 6 on the container without departingfrom the scope and spirit of the invention.

The neck portion 156 carries a peripheral bead 152 below the threads1.60. This bead is interrupted, as at point 164, and the end 166 thereofis turned up to form a wedge means or abutment. As shown in FIGURE 11,the wedge means or abutment carries a radially extending tab orprojection 17%) which serves as a means for depressing the wedge meansor wedge abutment generally designated by numeral 172.

The bead 162, interruption 164 therein, wedge means 172 and tab 170 maybe all formed in a single molding process together with the spout. Thebead and Wedge means can be integral with the spout along the radius ofjointure of the spout with bead and wedge means since tab 170 willdepress the wedge means downwardly so as to tree the same fromengagement with a notch in an associated closure, as will be evidentafter consideration is given to FIGURE 12.

In FIGURE 12, a closure 361 having a notch 281 in the terminal edge ofclosure skirt 24 is shown locked on the spout 159. To remove the closure3&1, one must depress the tab 17%) and thereby the wedge means orabutment 172 so that the notch 231 clears the abutment and the closurecan be unscrewed from the spout.

From the foregoing, it should be apparent that operation of theembodiment of FIGURES 10-l2 is essentially the same as operation of theother embodiments of the invention. It should also be apparent that ifde sired, the wedge means 172 and tab 176 alone can be coupled to thespout or container mouth, and the peripheral bead 162 can be eliminated.

In instances Where it is found desirable to provide a double thread onthe container mouth, two notches, spaced apart by 180, should beprovided on the closure skirt. However, it is only necessary to providea single wedge means or wedging abutment carried by the container mouth.When a double thread is provided on the container mouth, there are twostarting points at which there is initial mating engagement between thethreads on the mouth of the container and on the cap or closure. Thus,two notches, spaced 180 apart, should be provided so that one of thenotches will cooperate with the single wedge means to positively lockthe closure on the container.

Also, in certain instances it may be found desirable to provide multiplenotches on the closure, and multiple wedging abutments and associatedtabs on thecontainer mouth. In such instances, as suggested above, the

structure of FIGURE 9 is particularly suitable since de-' pression ofthe shell 110, a singleoperation,results in depression of all tabs andthereby a release of all looks.

From the foregoing discussion it should be apparent that the objects setforth at the outset have been achieved. A positive lock betweencontainer and closure has been provided; the closure may be tightened toany desired extent upon the container without interference from thelocking means; and the structures are inexpensive to fabricate and maybe utilized with only slightly modified existing components, or may beapplied to the newer plastic container components by simple moldingtechniques. Modifications other than those suggested above will becomeapparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, and therefore it isintended that the invention only be limited as defined in the appendedclaims.

I claim:

'1. A safety receptacle comprising-the combination of a container havingan open mouth portion; a closure for said container having a cylindricalskirt portion; cooperating means on said mouth portion and said skirtportion for tightening said closure into'sealing relation with theopening in said mouth portion; wedge means carried by said mouthportion; depressible means coupled to said wedge means for depressingsaid wedge means; and at least substantially indestructible abutmentmeans car- 7 ried by said skirt portion and cooperating with said wedgemeans, said abutment means being adapted to pass over and by said wedgemeans whereby said clo sure can be fully tightened into sealing relationwith the opening in said mouth portion, but thereafter said closurecannot be removed from said mouth portion unless said means fordepressing said wedge means is operated.

2. A safety receptacle as defined in claim 1 wherein said abutment meansencompasses only part of the periphery of said skirt portion andcomprises at least one notch formed in said skirt portion.

3. A safety receptacle as defined in claim 2 wherein said means fordepressing said wedge means comprises a tab projecting laterally fromsaid wedge means and extending outwardly beyond said skirt portion.

4. A safety receptacle comprising the combination defined in claim 1wherein said container is provided with a bead having an interruptiontherein, and wherein said combination further includes a ring carried bysaid mouth portion, said ring having said wedge means, said means fordepressing said wedge means, and retaining means cooperating with saidinterruption disposed thereon.

5. A safety receptacle comprising the combination defined in claim 1 andfurther including a bead integral with said mouth portion, said headhaving integrally formed therewith said wedge means, and said means fordepressing said wedge means.

6. A safety receptacle comprising the combination defined in claim 5wherein said head has an interruption therein, and wherein the edge ofsaid bead adjacent said interruption is turned upward toward the openingin said mouth portion and forms said wedge means.

7. A safety receptacle comprising the combination defined in claim 1,and further including a shell at least partially encasing said closure,said shell cooperating with said means for depressing said wedge meanswhereby depression of said shell results in depression of said wedgemeans.

8. A safety receptacle comprising in combination a containing meanshaving an open end, said containing means being provided with anexternal circumferential bead spaced from said open end and having aninterruption therein, and retaining means disposed between said open endand said bead; a ring disposed on said bead, said ring carrying wedgemeans normally projecting above the surface of said ring and means fordepressing said wedge means; said ring carrying an abutment cooperatingwith said interruption for preventing turningmovement of said ringrelative to said containing means; and a closure for said containingmeans having a crown portion and a skirt portion having a terminal edge,said skirt portion having retaining means adapted to cooperate with theretaining means on said containing means whereby said closure can betightened and retained on said containing means, said skirt having anotch in said terminal edge thereof, said notch cooperating with saidwedge means to prevent removal of said closure unless said means fordepressing said wedge is operated.

9. A safety receptacle as defined in claim 8 wherein said abutment meanscooperating with said interruption for preventing turning movement ofsaid ring comprises legs depending from said ring and extending intosaid interruption.

10. A safety receptacle as defined in claim 9 wherein said ring, saidwedge means and said legs are parts of a unitary structure.

11. A safety receptacle comprising the combination of a container havingan open mouth portion; a closure for said container having a cylindricalskirt portion; co-.

operating means on said mouth portion and said skirt portion fortightening said closure into sealing relation with the opening in saidmouth portion, a projection carried by said mouth portion, saidprojection having one side abutting said mouth portion and having atleast one end of said side afixed to said mouth portion, whereby theother end of said projection is depressable, a tab extending radiallyoutward from said projection for depressing said projection, andabutment means carried by said skirt portion and cooperating with saidother end of said projection, whereby when said closure is tightenedinto sealing relation with the opening in said mouth portion, saidclosure cannot be removed from said mouth portion unless pressure isapplied to said tab for depressing said other end of said projection.

12. A lock ring adapted for use with container closure carrying anabutment, said lock ring comprising a fiat ring shape body portionhaving two faces, a pair of spaced legs projecting from one face of saidbody portion, a depressable wedge shape projection carried on the otherface of said body portion, and a tab projecting radially outward fromsaid wedge shape projection.

13. A container mouth having means for tightening an associated closurethereon, at least substantially indestructible depressable wedge meansformed integrally with and projecting radially outward from said mouth,and tab means formed integrally with said wedge means for depressingsaid wedge means, said tab means projecting radially outward from saidwedge means.

14. A lock ring adapted for use with container closures carrying anabutment, said lock ring comprising a fiat ring-shape body portionhaving two faces, an abutment projecting from one face of said bodyportion, a depressable wedge-shape projection carried on the other faceof said body portion, and a tab projecting radially outward from saidwedge-shape projection.

15. A safety receptacle comprising the combination of a container havingan open mouth portion and a bead integral with said mouth portion; aclosure for said container having a. cylindrical skirt portion;cooperating means on said mouth portion and said skirt portion fortightening said closure into scaling relation with the opening in saidmouth portion; wedge means formed integrally with said head and carriedby said mouth portion in spaced relation to the opening therein, meanscoupled to said wedge means for depressing said wedge means, said meanscoupled to said wedge means being integrally formed with said bead andsaid wedge means; an at least substantially indestructible abutmentmeans carried by said skirt portion and cooperating with said wedge eanswhereby when said closure is tightened into sealing relation with theopening in said mouth portion, said closure cannot be removed from saidmouth portion unless said means for depressing said wedge means isoperated.

16. A safety receptacle comprising the combination defined in claim 15wherein said head has an interrup tion therein, and wherein the edge'ofsaid bead adjacent said interruption is turned upward toward the openingin said mouth portion and forms said wedge means.

References Qited in the file of this patent 1 UNITED STATES PATENTS1,747,205 White Feb. 18, 1930 ,045,388 Guthrie June 23, 1936 2,104,236Mermer Jan. 4, 1938 2,153,427 Fleisch et a1. Apr. 4, 1939 2,414,420Sebell Jan. 14, 1947 2,462,689 Stretz Feb. 22, 19.49 2,827,193 MartinMar. 18, 1958

